MC5 ‘Kick Out The Jams’

I didn’t want to feature this LP as I thought it wasn’t obscure enough, but it’s surprising how many people don’t own this seminal work. For those who aren’t up on Detroit’s finest (well, equal finest with a million other ace Detroit bands like… The Stooges and the Motown stable…), let’s just say that ‘Kick Out The Jams’ is one of the finest examples of sixties punk you’ll ever hear.

DIY to the nth degree and recorded live, the full sonic assault that is Kick Out The Jams fires off with the electrifying ‘Rambling Rose’. Snotty falsetto rides shotgun over one of the beefiest surging riffs you’re likely to bear testimonial to.

Of course, the famous and title track, Kick Out The Jams is oft covered and well played. Minimal musicianship (in a good way) with the famous opener of "Right now, right now it’s time to… KICK OUT THE JAMS MOTHERFUCKERS!" Pure adreneline rushes and tommy gun snare drums await those not already induced into the MC5’s firebrand rock and fucking roll.

‘Borderline’ see the band tackling more high octane garage punk, with slight nods to Eastern music. Far from pretentious, the LP is a scintillating lesson in how to blow people’s brains out with drums/bass/guitars/vox. With the LP recorded live, you can see how exciting the sixties (sometimes) were… sadly, any band you see in the present will probably pale next to one of the most incredible bits of vinyl ever pressed. If you know the LP, go back and listen to it the first chance you get, for those who don’t, you cannot live without this album.

2 Responses to “MC5 ‘Kick Out The Jams’”

Apparently, the MC5 ‘White Panthers’ insisted their first release would be a live album, something that even the easy going Jac Holzman balked at. It was duly released and pretty much flopped. Check their other worthy releases High Time and Back in the USA as well. There’s a great ‘Beat Club’ video (probably on YouTube) of the guys cranking out Kick Out the Jams – the band are tight and cool as fuck!